The spate of gun violence shows American exceptionalism at its worst

接二連三的槍支暴力事件顯示出美國(guó)最糟糕的卓異主義

Another mass shooting

又一起大規(guī)模槍擊事件

Texas and the country are weeping, again. But will anyone act?

德州和整個(gè)國(guó)家都再次哭泣。但有人會(huì)采取行動(dòng)嗎?

Uvalde is a small town in the picturesque Texas Hill Country, west of San Antonio, which used to be best known as the “honey capital of the world”. Today it is associated with senseless slaughter. On May 24th an 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, entered Robb Elementary School and carried out the largest school shooting since Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012. At least 21 are dead, including 19 children.

尤瓦爾迪是一個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)，位于風(fēng)景如畫(huà)的德州丘陵地區(qū)，圣安東尼奧以西，這里曾被譽(yù)為“世界蜂蜜之都”。今天，它與無(wú)謂的屠殺聯(lián)系在一起。5月24日，18歲的槍手薩爾瓦多·拉莫斯進(jìn)入羅布小學(xué)，制造了自2012年康涅狄格州紐敦桑迪胡克小學(xué)以來(lái)最大規(guī)模的校園槍擊案。(這場(chǎng)槍擊案中)至少21人死亡，其中包括19名兒童。

The gunman reportedly bought two assault rifles on his 18th birthday and is believed to have used one, and high-capacity magazines, which allowed him to fire multiple bullets quickly. In a haunting parallel with Sandy Hook, in which that gunman killed his mother before perpetrating the school attack, Mr Ramos shot his grandmother, who is in critical condition. No motive has been revealed.

據(jù)報(bào)道，槍手在他18歲生日那天買(mǎi)了兩支突擊步槍，據(jù)信他已使用了一支，以及大容量彈匣，這使他能夠快速發(fā)射多發(fā)子彈。與桑迪胡克小學(xué)槍擊案相似的是，拉莫斯開(kāi)槍射擊了他的祖母，他的祖母目前情況危急，而在桑迪胡克小學(xué)槍擊案中，那個(gè)槍手是在校園襲擊前殺死了自己的母親。目前還沒(méi)有透露動(dòng)機(jī)。

There have been over 900 shootings on school grounds since the massacre of six- and seven-year-olds at Sandy Hook a decade ago. Whether in schools or elsewhere, mass shootings have become tragically common in America (see chart). Less than two weeks ago, another 18-year-old killed ten people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, targeting them because of their race. “We’re in this scenario where we keep watching the same movie play over and over again, and it’s a bad version of ‘Groundhog Day’,” says Joe Sakran, a surgeon and gun-control advocate.?

自從十年前桑迪胡克小學(xué)六、七歲的孩子被殺以來(lái)，校園里已經(jīng)發(fā)生了900多起槍擊案。無(wú)論是在學(xué)校還是在其他地方，大規(guī)模的槍擊事件在美國(guó)已經(jīng)變得非常普遍(見(jiàn)圖表)，這很悲慘。不到兩周前，另一名18歲的年輕人因?yàn)榉N族原因，在紐約州布法羅的一家雜貨店殺害了10人。外科醫(yī)生兼槍支管制倡導(dǎo)者喬·薩克蘭表示：“我們一直處在這樣一個(gè)局面中，我們一直看著同一部電影一遍又一遍地播放，這是糟糕版的‘土撥鼠之日’?！?/p>

president Joe Biden, freshly back from Asia, gave a sombre speech, which merged the gravity of a eulogy with the outrage of a prosecution. “What struck me on that 17-hour flight was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world…Why are we willing to live with this carnage?” he asked. Mr Biden blamed the strength of the gun lobby, which has opposed even the most moderate of proposals, including funding federal research on gun violence and investing more in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), an under-resourced agency that is responsible for background checks and ensuring firearms dealers comply with the law. The ATF has had a permanent head only once in the past 15 years, owing to opposition by gun groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA).

剛剛從亞洲回來(lái)的喬·拜登總統(tǒng)發(fā)表了一場(chǎng)嚴(yán)肅的演講，將悼詞的嚴(yán)肅與起訴的憤怒融合在一起。他問(wèn)道，“在17個(gè)小時(shí)的飛行中，讓我震驚的是，這種大規(guī)模槍擊事件在世界其他地方很少發(fā)生……為什么我們?cè)敢馀c這種大屠殺共存？”。拜登將其歸咎于槍支游說(shuō)團(tuán)體的強(qiáng)大力量，他們甚至反對(duì)最溫和的提議，包括資助針對(duì)槍支暴力的聯(lián)邦研究，向美國(guó)煙酒槍炮及爆裂物管理局投入更多資金，ATF是一個(gè)資源不足的機(jī)構(gòu)，負(fù)責(zé)背景調(diào)查和確保槍支經(jīng)銷商遵守法律。由于美國(guó)步槍協(xié)會(huì)等槍支組織的反對(duì)，在過(guò)去15年里，ATF只有一次任命了常任局長(zhǎng)。

When it comes to guns, America is exceptional in three ways. Per head, it has the highest level of gun ownership in the world (war-torn Yemen ranks second). It has a significantly higher share of killings with guns than countries like Britain and Canada, which have stricter controls. And unlike other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, which have experienced mass shootings but adapted their laws in the wake of tragedy, America has refused to change its gun laws.

說(shuō)到槍支，美國(guó)在三個(gè)方面是不同尋常的。人均擁有槍支數(shù)量居世界首位(飽受戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)蹂躪的也門(mén)排名第二)。它的槍殺比例明顯高于英國(guó)和加拿大等國(guó)家，這些國(guó)家對(duì)槍支的控制更為嚴(yán)格。與澳大利亞和新西蘭等其他國(guó)家不同，這些國(guó)家經(jīng)歷過(guò)大規(guī)模槍擊事件，但在悲劇發(fā)生后修改了法律，而美國(guó)拒絕修改槍支法。

The lack of congressional action on gun control is its own sorry tale. After Sandy Hook, president Barack Obama gave the job of pushing through substantive gun-control legislation to his vice-president, Mr Biden. In 2013 a bill that would have introduced universal background checks on all gun sales failed in the Senate. There has been little federal action on gun control, because of Congress’s unwillingness to stare down the barrel of the nra, which remains influential in Washington despite the group’s own financial and reputational problems. In order to get things done, Mr Biden has tried to change policy by executive order, including regulating “ghost guns” that can be assembled from parts bought online and which had previously evaded regulation.

國(guó)會(huì)對(duì)槍支管制缺乏行動(dòng)本身就是一個(gè)令人遺憾的故事。桑迪胡克事件發(fā)生后，奧巴馬總統(tǒng)將推動(dòng)槍支管制立法的重任交給了副總統(tǒng)拜登。2013年，一項(xiàng)對(duì)所有槍支銷售實(shí)行普遍背景調(diào)查的法案未能在參議院獲得通過(guò)。由于國(guó)會(huì)不愿直面NRA，聯(lián)邦政府幾乎沒(méi)有在槍支管制方面采取行動(dòng)。盡管NRA自身存在財(cái)務(wù)和聲譽(yù)問(wèn)題，但該組織在華盛頓仍有影響力。為了把事情做好，拜登試圖通過(guò)行政命令來(lái)改變政策，包括監(jiān)管“幽靈槍”，這種槍可以通過(guò)在網(wǎng)上購(gòu)買(mǎi)的零部件組裝而成，此前一直可以逃避監(jiān)管。

More action has occurred at the state level. For example, after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, many states passed new gun-control laws, including the Republican-led Sunshine State. But there has also been a loosening of rules. Texas has embraced “permitless carry” laws, which allow people to carry guns around in public with no permit or training. In the absence of stronger federal legislation, places with stiffer restrictions see the results of their efforts diluted by anti-gun-control states. This is why there is an “iron pipeline” of guns trafficked from states in the South with fewer restrictions to those in the north-east which have stricter policies, says Mr Sakran.

更多的行動(dòng)發(fā)生在“州“層面。例如，在2018年佛羅里達(dá)州帕克蘭的馬喬里·斯通曼·道格拉斯高中發(fā)生槍擊事件后，許多州通過(guò)了新的槍支管制法律，包括共和黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的陽(yáng)光州。但也有規(guī)則放寬的州。德克薩斯州實(shí)行了“無(wú)持槍許可”法，允許人們?cè)诠矆?chǎng)合攜帶槍支，無(wú)需許可或接受培訓(xùn)。在缺乏更強(qiáng)有力的聯(lián)邦立法的情況下，那些限制更嚴(yán)格的地方，其努力的結(jié)果被反槍支管制的州削弱了。薩克蘭先生說(shuō)，這就是為什么有一條“鐵管道”將槍支從限制較少的南部各州販運(yùn)到政策更為嚴(yán)格的東北部各州。

Although the shooting in Uvalde breaks hearts, will it change minds? As politicians prevaricate, more guns circulate. During 2020 and 2021, an estimated 43m guns were sold in America. Universal background checks would be the most meaningful reform—though an elusive one in a divided Congress. Some Democrats want to lengthen the waiting period for gun purchases. Currently the fbi has three days to conduct a background check for a gun sold by a federally licensed gun dealer, and if it does not object in that quick window, the buyer receives his firearm. This happened with the assailant in a grim shooting in Charleston in 2015.

盡管尤瓦爾迪的槍擊事件傷透了人心，但它會(huì)改變?nèi)藗兊南敕▎幔侩S著政客們的推諉，更多的槍支開(kāi)始流通。在2020年至2021年期間，美國(guó)大約售出了4300萬(wàn)支槍支。普遍的背景調(diào)查將是最有意義的改革，盡管這在分裂的國(guó)會(huì)中難以實(shí)現(xiàn)。一些民主黨人希望延長(zhǎng)購(gòu)買(mǎi)槍支的等待期。目前，聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局有三天的時(shí)間對(duì)持有聯(lián)邦執(zhí)照的槍支經(jīng)銷商銷售的槍支進(jìn)行背景調(diào)查，如果在這段快速窗口期時(shí)間內(nèi)其沒(méi)有提出反對(duì)意見(jiàn)，買(mǎi)家就會(huì)收到槍支。這導(dǎo)致2015年在查爾斯頓發(fā)生了一起可怕的槍擊事件。

The most likely change out of Washington could come soon from the Supreme Court, which is going to rule on a case regarding the constitutionality of New York’s restrictions on people’s ability to carry guns in public. Many expect the court to rule against New York, making it easier for individuals to carry firearms and potentially leading to more states’ gun restrictions being struck down.

華盛頓以外最有可能發(fā)生的變化可能很快來(lái)自最高法院，最高法院將就紐約州限制人們?cè)诠矆?chǎng)合攜帶槍支的合憲一案做出裁決。許多人預(yù)計(jì)法院會(huì)做出不利于紐約州的裁決，使個(gè)人攜帶槍支變得更容易，并可能導(dǎo)致更多州廢除槍支限制。

Messing with TexasIn Texas, voters will soon be able to indicate whether they are content to tolerate the status quo. In the wake of two mass shootings in 2019, Greg Abbott, Texas’s governor, promised to look into solutions for avoiding future attacks but failed to act, instead signing permitless-carry into law. Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who is running for governor, has made gun-control central to his political career (he confronted Mr Abbott at a news conference in Uvalde on May 25th). But his chances of victory against Mr Abbott are low, and there is little he could do to regulate guns in a Republican-controlled state legislature anyway.

在德克薩斯州，選民們很快就能表明他們是否滿足于容忍現(xiàn)狀。在2019年發(fā)生兩起大規(guī)模槍擊事件后，德克薩斯州州長(zhǎng)格雷格·阿博特承諾尋找避免未來(lái)襲擊的解決方案，但他沒(méi)有采取行動(dòng)，而是簽署了“無(wú)許可攜帶”法案。正在競(jìng)選州長(zhǎng)的民主黨人貝托?奧羅克已將槍支管制作為其政治生涯的核心(5月25日他在尤瓦爾迪的新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上與阿博特對(duì)峙)。但他戰(zhàn)勝阿博特的機(jī)會(huì)很低，而且無(wú)論如何，在共和黨控制的州立法機(jī)構(gòu)中，他對(duì)管制槍支幾乎無(wú)能為力。

On May 27th the nra is kicking off its annual conference, with speakers including Mr Abbott, Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, and former president Donald Trump. That the Uvalde atrocity and the nra’s gathering will occur in the same state, in the same week, is a symbol of America’s divisions and dysfunction.

5月27日，全國(guó)步槍協(xié)會(huì)將開(kāi)始其年度會(huì)議，演講者包括阿博特先生、德克薩斯州共和黨參議員泰德?克魯茲和前總統(tǒng)唐納德?特朗普。尤瓦爾迪的暴行和全國(guó)步槍協(xié)會(huì)的會(huì)議將在同一個(gè)州，在同一個(gè)星期發(fā)生，這是美國(guó)分裂和失衡的象征。